corrente

More sizzling numbers from the Bush team! Ha. Fooled ya. Or not, eh?

The Institute for Supply Management's non-manufacturing data [i.e., services] showed new orders and employment components gaining ground, but the overall index fell to 59.9 in June from 65.2 in May. Economists had been looking for a dip to 63.0.

Gee, once again the economists are surprised when the numbers are worse than they thought.

Taken in the context of a recent pullback in the economic data, some economists viewed the report as more evidence that growth, while still solid, has started to ebb.

Yet a separate report showed that while the number of planned layoffs had fallen in June, the level of planned hirings also declined.

Employment research firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas said planned layoffs in the United States slipped to 64,343 in June, down from May's 73,368.

But corporate hirings, which Challenger began tracking in May, fell to 38,377 workers, down 31 percent from May's 55,307.

"The decline in June job cuts is good news, but it would not be surprising to see a rise in monthly job-cut announcements during the second half of the year," John Challenger, the firm's chief executive officer said in a statement.

Last week, the Labor Department said June U.S. non-farm payrolls grew by 112,000 jobs, less than half the level economists had forecast. Also job gains in April and May were revised lower, painting a much less favorable employment picture.
(via Reuters)

Whimper.

"Steady growth.". Translation: Whimper.